“Created as an industry service by The Culinary Institute of America participation with the National Peanut Board, this food allergy education program is an Internet-based educational program that encourages foodservice professionals to explore and adopt more carefully calibrated responses to the food allergy issue. Through informative text, video interviews and allergy free recipe ideas, this free program helps educate foodservice operators about strategies for meeting customers' needs without unnecessarily eliminating foods with potential allergens from their menus.”

A super long video of me is here which will be released to the public and CIA students in a few weeks.

Essentially, I talk about what it’s like to dine out from an allergic diner’s perspective eating out and what my steps are to ensure a great dining experience, both in terms of my responsibility to communicate my needs and the chef/restaurant’s responsibility to hear those needs and tell me honestly if they can accommodate them. Allergic Girl readers are getting an early exclusive invite to check out the landing site they created [it won't be made public for a few more weeks]. The site has all kinds of videos, recipes and resources, like a free downloadable chef card.

Comments

As always, a job well done! What a great advocate you are for the food allergy community. I have wondered how culinary schools have modified their curricula (sp?) to address food allergies, so this post is especially interesting to me. Thanks!

I have only discovered your blog recently but I love it and am happy to have this great resource. I also have severe food allergies along with environmental allergies and chemical sensitivities. Your interview was excellent and expressed my feelings about eating out exactly.

I am visiting NYC in January - do you have a post or resource on your blog that lists some of the best allergy tolerant restuarants in the city?

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! This video is so wonderful! I personally have had quite a few good and bad experiences dining out as a food allergic person (with uncommon intolerances, like carrot and peas, in addition to some of the more common ones). One of the bad experiences was actually with my brother, who is a chef, who chastized me for having my tuna cooked all the way through while eating at his restaurant. I am allergic to raw fish, but can eat it cooked just fine, and he scolded me for not eating it raw despite the fact that it would cause allergic reaction. Granted, the restaurant itself accomodated my food allergies/intolerances just fine, but my brother was clearly the unsympathetic chef (who rolls their eyes) who you mentioned in the video. Thank you for getting the word out to chefs about how to serve our community and also thank you for the insight of how to better communicate with the chef ahead of time!

That was great, so helpful and informative. My biggest challenge with food allergies is the eating out/social aspect of it, not knowing how to deal with restaurants, and you've really explained it in a smart way. THANKS!

Thank you so much for doing the video and to the CIA for starting this program! I hope it catches on and spreads to the masses.

btw...thanks for the reminder of being our own advocate and our responsibility! Just this week I did not pay attention to the ingredients on a packaged cookie that I remembered eating before. I reacted to it due the milk content(was the last ingredient listed)! ugh! One of the worst reactions I've had in a while...had the whole anxiety thing and everything! So not a good feeling.

Thank goodness for people like you!!! As the mom of a nut-allergic girl, restaurants are one of my biggest stressors. You are doing so much to help food-allergic diners and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!

What a great blog! I, too, have only recently been diagnosed with multiple allergies. Biggest problem is finding a gluten/ wheat/egg/potato-free, "bread-like" substance that is NOT made with rice! Is there anything out there? I feel your pain!

FIRST TIME HERE?

SLOANE MILLER, MFA, MSW, LMSW

ABOUT ME:

I have had food allergies my entire life. I'm anaphylactic to all tree nuts and salmon; I’m also allergic to eggplant and some types of melons; and OAS to many fruits and vegetables. I live a full life and I am committed to helping other people with food allergies do the same.

Whether through my award-winning blog Please Don’t Pass the Nuts™, my critically acclaimed self-help book Allergic Girl: Adventures in Living Well with Food Allergies, one-on-one counseling with adults and families dealing with food allergies, public speaking engagements or recipe development for national food manufacturing brands, I offer experienced insights and guidance on how to get more out of a life lived with food allergies.

My work has appeared in national and international media, including: ABCNews; Allergic Living; CNN; Huffington Post; New York Magazine; NY1; The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post.

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Disclaimer

The content on this blog is based on my personal experiences and intended solely for entertainment purposes only. I am not a medical professional and the content on this blog is not to be considered medical advice.